Archive for February, 2008


Published February 18th, 2008

Is Human Hair Really a Great Fertilizer for your Garden?

On Yahoo! Canada today there was a news article from ABC News entitled “Hair: the best fertilizer?” - all about using human hair as fertilizer for plants. At first I thought perhaps it was a new exciting way to fertilizer my garden, but the article’s title was a little misleading.

The article talks about a nursery in Florida that uses human hair that has been pressed into mats for weed control around their plants. The nursery owner says that he’s saved thousands of dollars on herbicides and labour because of the human hair mats.

That sounds a lot more like weed suppression than fertilizer to me.

No where on the internet can I find anything about human hair being a fertilizer, though it would have merit as a weed suppressant - just like plastic mulch, wood chips, hay, and host of other materials. For my garden, I think I’d much rather lay down a strip of plastic mulch than a wad of hair.

So before you rush out to buy a truck load of human hair, check out some mulching ideas from Bob at NorthernGreenhouse.com for a simpler, easier way to suppress weeds and retain moisture.

Read ABC’s article.

Watch ABC’s video.

Published February 14th, 2008

Garden Plan & Seeds for 2008

With spring not all that far away, folks are browsing the seed catalogs and are starting to put together their seed orders for this spring. And of course, once compiled, these lists make their way onto the internet for our viewing pleasure. So where’s my list?

Well, instead of a plain ol’ list, I thought I’d show you the full meal deal. You see, I have tendency to be way too organized and since I’m quite adapt with a computer, I just so happen to have a full color diagram of everything I plan to plant and where I’m going to plant it. Care to take a gander? Then here goes…

Oh, by the way, click the image to download a full size .pdf file to study at your leisure.

A-Frame Greenhouse Plan

A-Frame Greenhouse Plan 2008 (pdf)The main crops in here are tomatoes, watermelons, and cucumbers, but you’ll also a variety of other things as well. Something new for my greenhouse this year is pumpkins. I’m going to try to grow a giant pumpkin or two inside my greenhouse. I’m also going to try raspberries in my greenhouse to see if I can extend their season. The blank plot in the upper left corner is where I’m going to plan a mini-replica of my main outdoor garden just to compare how the plants grow differently in the greenhouse.

Just a note about the “Phil’s Strawberries”: Those are a type of strawberry that I’m getting from my brother Phil who is a u-pick fruit grower. I’m not sure exactly what type they are.

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